2008 Woodie Awards
May Gallery exhibits work of former Webster-Kirkwood Times photographer
Students fail to show for opening reception of Webster graduate Ursula Ruhl
By: Rachel Lebo
Issue date: 10/12/06 Section: LifeStyle
The most recent May Gallery exhibit brings an alumna back for Homecoming. Ursula Ruhl, a 1994 graduate, returned to Webster to celebrate the opening of her photography exhibit "Times Captured." Photos of hometown newspaper journalism along with her family are featured.
Amidst the images of annual town events and small town people, there are photographs of two presidents, a pope and a trip to Bosnia and Hungary.
"My editor, Don Corrigan, called me and asked if I had a passport and I asked why," Ruhl said. "The military was offering to allow journalists to photograph the peacekeeping mission in Bosnia and Hungary. We needed to localize this story to the Webster community, and we found a soldier who received letters from a local Webster Groves woman."
The exhibit also includes a photograph of Bill Clinton at Webster Groves High School shaking hands with students following a 1996 speech. Ruhl also joined the media frenzy to photograph Pope John Paul II when he visited St. Louis in 1999.
Ray Johnson, who attended the opening as a guest of a Webster Groves resident, said the colors and seasonal feel of the Kirkwood Farmers Market Pumpkin Fest photographs were among his favorites, as well as the photograph of the four-alarm fire of the Scholin Brothers Printing business.
One of Webster's own lounges is the focus of a photo in the exhibit. Ruhl photographed students watching in quiet disbelief as the events of Sept. 11 unfolded on a television.
Ruhl was photo editor of The Journal in 1994, and from May 1995 to May 2003, she was the photo editor of the Webster-Kirkwood Times.
"Ursula is a wonderful and creative photographer," said Dwight Bitikofer, publisher of the Webster-Kirkwood Times. "One of the challenges of being photo editor is to find unique ways to show the annual events of a small town, and she excelled."
Most of the photographs are in color and only a small number are black and white. Ruhl used black and white or color film for her photographs until 2003 when she started using digital photography. In the Webster-Kirkwood Times, her photographs were always in black and white unless it was a special event.
Amidst the images of annual town events and small town people, there are photographs of two presidents, a pope and a trip to Bosnia and Hungary.
"My editor, Don Corrigan, called me and asked if I had a passport and I asked why," Ruhl said. "The military was offering to allow journalists to photograph the peacekeeping mission in Bosnia and Hungary. We needed to localize this story to the Webster community, and we found a soldier who received letters from a local Webster Groves woman."
The exhibit also includes a photograph of Bill Clinton at Webster Groves High School shaking hands with students following a 1996 speech. Ruhl also joined the media frenzy to photograph Pope John Paul II when he visited St. Louis in 1999.
Ray Johnson, who attended the opening as a guest of a Webster Groves resident, said the colors and seasonal feel of the Kirkwood Farmers Market Pumpkin Fest photographs were among his favorites, as well as the photograph of the four-alarm fire of the Scholin Brothers Printing business.
One of Webster's own lounges is the focus of a photo in the exhibit. Ruhl photographed students watching in quiet disbelief as the events of Sept. 11 unfolded on a television.
Ruhl was photo editor of The Journal in 1994, and from May 1995 to May 2003, she was the photo editor of the Webster-Kirkwood Times.
"Ursula is a wonderful and creative photographer," said Dwight Bitikofer, publisher of the Webster-Kirkwood Times. "One of the challenges of being photo editor is to find unique ways to show the annual events of a small town, and she excelled."
Most of the photographs are in color and only a small number are black and white. Ruhl used black and white or color film for her photographs until 2003 when she started using digital photography. In the Webster-Kirkwood Times, her photographs were always in black and white unless it was a special event.
Be the first to comment on this story